Honey Porter Glazed Chicken Skewers

I have two very distinct sides to my personality, dueling forces that pull me in opposing directions with near cartoon ideation. Although Devil and Angel would be easier to deal with, mine are more Old Lady and Free Spirited Gypsy. As much as I would like to tell you that Gypsy wins the battles, it’s Old Lady that tends to run the show.

A few years ago Gypsy got ahold of the controls and decided to buy a motorcycle. Paying penance to Old Lady, I singed up for a Motorcycle Riders Training Course. It was a three-day crash course (pun intended) in how to ride a motorcycle without killing yourself. I also allowed the Old Lady side of me to buy the safest helmet and motorcycle jacket with armor I could find.

The first day of class I was equal parts nervous and intimidated, as I noticed I was the only novice in the group and one of the youngest. Most were crotch rocket guys wanting to “blast the Crest” as soon as possible. The only other girl was a woman who wanted to learn to ride so she could bike cross-country with her partner for their 20 year anniversary.

No one talked to me. Really, no one talked. We were all a bit insular trying to figure out how to learn not to kill ourselves, drowning in the Dead People Smeared On The Road stories told by the ex-bike-cop who taught the class. On the final day of class we met early in the morning in a parking lot in Long Beach just as it started to rain. A little drizzle that scares the crap out of most of Los Angeles. We were given the opportunity to come back on a non-rainy day but collectively decided, with a series of sideways glances and nods, that we would all stay and ride like Bad Ass SoCal People in the very light drizzle.

The final segment of the day was an obstacle course through the gigantic empty parking lot. Trying to make sure I was at least in the top half of the pack, time-wise, I set out a bit faster than I should have. As I rounded the first curve, set over a large white arrow painted on the pavement of the parking lot, my bike slipped out from under me and began to skid along the wet ground as I tumbled in the opposite direction. Ex-bike-cop was visibly relieved to see that I was fine and address the issue with the group by saying, “I think now is a really good time to tell everyone that paint on the pavement gets really slippery when it rains.”

To which I responded, “No, ten minutes ago would have been a really good time to say that. At this point, it’s pretty obvious.”

Sometimes, when you are so immeshed in an activity, you don’t think to state what’s really obvious to you, like ex-bike-cop and the paint. For me, it’s this chicken. Maybe you’ve noticed that I tend to lean away from that popular Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast that we all grew up with. Mostly because it’s so often dry and flavorless. If you favor that cut, try the boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets, so much more flavor and they can take some serious heat before they dry out. Chicken thighs are a bit of secret ingredient when it comes to chicken dishes, making your favorite chicken breast recipe taste at least 30 percent better if you use the thighs instead. They do take a bit longer to cook, but it’s completely worth it.

In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, honey, porter, red pepper flakes, mustard, soy sauce and pepper. Add the chicken cubes, refrigerate for 1 hour and up to overnight.

Remove the chicken from marinade (reserve the marinade) thread the chicken through wooden skewers.

In a pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and shallots. Sautee until shallots have softened, about 5 minutes. Add marinade and boil, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes.

Grill directions:

Preheat grill to medium high.

Brush the grill lightly with oil.

Brush the chicken with the glaze, place on the grill. Brush with glaze and turn every 2-4 minutes until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro prior to serving.

Oven directions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Place chicken on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Brush liberally with glaze. Roast at 400 for 30-40 minutes, brushing with glaze every 8-10 minutes until cooked through.

101 thoughts on “Honey Porter Glazed Chicken Skewers”

Whoa, whoa, whoa! You are one cool chick. I loved your motorcycle adventure you just took us on. Sorry to you you fell and very happy to hear you are ok! But honestly Jackie, You are so darn cool. Beer, motorcycles and gorgeous food and writing skills! Multi talented!

Ok and I love the sweet glazed chicken!! Look so good! Honey is am amazing glaze and flavor. yuM!

Completely agree on using thighs rather than the breasts. I’ve almost given up on chicken breasts in my house, they rarely make an appearance anymore. These skewers sound so sticky sweet and delicious!

I’m an idiosyncratic mix of cynic, hippie, & hipster. I doubt that either of them would be brave enough to ride a motorcycle! That’s quite awesome. Hopefully the skid didn’t tarnish any future free riding (is that what it’s called?). 😀

These chicken skewers are gorge!! I don’t know the first thing about cooking poultry, so the tip about breasts v thighs is kind of mind blowing!

i showed this to jason last night and his eyes went wide and i think he drooled a bit…i had a similar reaction when i saw these and man, they’re ridiculously amazing looking! i love the flavors you incorporated in this!

Did a test run of this on my family tonite, after a week of other test recipes prepping for a beach weekend with good friends. This recipe won, hands down—my family (all, men, mind you) were licking their fingers, plates, skewers, and not sharing even a morsel with our adorable Golden Retriever.
Perfect recipe, perfect results, and fabulous flavor. YUM

You are a badass!!!! Loved reading this post! I have a gypsy soul battling with my old lady soul all the time. This post really hit home. And heck yeah, chicken thighs are the way to go if you are cooking the bird!

OMG, I love your analogy of Old Lady…Gypsy. I am so glad other people suffer from this. My husband is very conservative and just shakes his head at me sometimes..lol..Although I do have to say the motorcycle would be my extreme. I would love to learn how to ride one though. Will be putting your chicken on the menu and checking back for your further adventures.

Cool story! I also ride and I too laid down my bike in the training class while trying to make a turn for the 1st time! I have been riding for 13 years now & have worked my way up to a Harley softail. The recipe looks great will definitely have to try it! Ride safe!

I made this amazing recipe tonight but used an IPA instead of a porter….according to my hubby, it was ‘restaurant quality.’ Thank you for such an amazing recipe!! It’s going into my frequently used recipes 🙂

I found your recipe Honey and Beer Glazed Chicken Skewers on pinterest.. (I was notified that the pin was removed this morning. I understand there were copyright issues) ..and it led me to your wonderful blog. I will be watching you from now on. I am not a beer drinker but I like to cook with it.. so this should be fun. I am also a huge fan of anything cooked on the grill.

You say to not be selfish and to share on facebook, pinterest and twitter, even providing links/icons for us to do so and when we do, the pins are removed from pinterest because you complained of copyright violation!!! All we were doing was what you asked us to do, we were promoting your website…………..free advertising. Unreal loooooooooooool

I did not report anyone, but I have received several emails that people have been getting a message from pinterest that a pin from my site was removed. It did not come from me, I absolutely appreciate it when people pin. Someone else reported that pin as SPAM, it was not me. Please, pin away, you always have my permission.

Pinterest notified me this pin was deleted to this recipe. I would think you would love the traffic to your site. So sorry to have offended you by pinning this to Pinterest. I won’t be back to look for ideas.

I DID NOT report the pin. Pinterest made a mistake, I would never ask them to remove pins. I have been trying all day to deal with hate mail and nasty comments and trying to get it worked out. I told Pinterest never to remove any pins that lead to to my site and hope they listen. I never made any such report, pinterest is mistaken. But as a result I’m still dealing with nasty comments and emails all day.

So sorry for the inconvenience, but it was not caused by me, but by pinterest.

I am SO glad to hear that you were not the cause of the pin being removed. I was so puzzled as to why a blogger would not enjoy and appreciate the extra exposure. I always take the time to make sure my pins link back to the original post. After it was removed the first time, I came to your blog, read the terms of use to be sure I was following the rules, re-pinned and again it was removed. I’ve pinned this recipe for the third time and I am hoping it sticks this time. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much. Still trying to figure out what happened and have had to resort to tweeting because Pinterest won’t respond. I have no idea why they think I want the pin removed and have asked them to add me to a “Never Remove My Pins” list, if such a thing exists.

I’m giving this marinade a try tomorrow, though I’m going to smoke whole thighs after letting them marinade all day. Can’t wait to give it a go as none of your other recipes have led the Mrs. and I astray!

I made these chicken skewers for dinner using the oven method. Very good. I follow directions for the marinade/glaze……. it cooked down but did not really thicken….but it still was delicious. My brother loves chicken thighs, so this recipe was a big hit with him.

I was always told that if you use raw meat in your marinade then you were NEVER to make a glaze out it due to bacteria from the raw meat (chicken) Is this not true????? It sounds absolutely wonderful so I really want to try it!!!

Just tried these tonight with chicken breast (all I had in the house) and it was a HUGE hit! Not dry at all probably because small pieces cook so quick. Husband kept saying “mmmm”, “mmmm” throughout the meal and said I could make this again anytime!!!! Thanks so much for this keeper! 🙂

Made these for dinner tonight I was disappointed case my sauce didn’t turn out… Not sure why I did everything I was to do. But even with. Out the sauce they were great and I will forsure make them again. Any ideas why my sauce didn’t turn out??

I let it sit over night when I went to reduce the marinade I put it in the sauce pan boiled it wouldn’t thicken it got clumpy all most like foam. we boiled it awhile longer and nothing happened. im going to try it again and see what happens.

I ran into this same issue. I realized it was the fat from the chicken (even though I trimmed it) boiling into solids. There was actually a lot of it, and it was pretty grody looking. I just got a wire mesh strainer, poured the sauce through it into a bowl, and returned the sauce to the pot. Everything went as planned after that. It was a huge hit! We had company over. There were 6 of us, and I quadrupled the recipe. It was 100% gone in no time flat. This recipe is totally a keeper.

Mine did the same thing. I realized it was solids from the chicken fat forming up as it cooked. I poured the sauce through a strainer into a bowl, then returned it to the pot. It went as planned after that. We had company. There were 6 of us, and I quadrupled this recipe. It was 100% gone in no time flat. This recipe is a keeper.

Just made these for the 2nd time in 2 weeks – it combines flavors that I love with grilling (which means my hsuband cooks and I can relax a little lol). These are fabulous. We used whatever beer we had in the house – first time it was a Sam Adams, this time we had a Saranac Ginger IPA which I think will be really delicious with the soy sauce…. Thanks for posting! This will definitely be a go to for us.

cant believe your mc story – almost mine to a tee… old lady vs gypse too! I even layed bike down in class and left before getting my license, but got it afterwards – have to try chicken just because…LOL

Wow, this was delicious. My family loved it. My husband who’s a beer snob loved it and was licking his fingers. My 11 year old son didn’t say a word and was in love. Thank you for a great recipe. I pinned this months ago from Pinterest but just now tried it. You did not disappoint.

I just made this recipe with a few changes. I used a stout instead of porter due to lack of good porters at the store I went to and I used chicken breast as I am not a chicken thigh fan. This is delicious thanks for sharing!

We just made this recipe – it was absolutely fabulous! Entire family loved them, the chicken was moist inside but had a nice crisp on the outside. We made a double batch and had two meals for a family of four (including a growing teenage boy) plus a meal for a couple we know, and then still had some left! (But believe me, no one was complaining.) ☺

This chicken looks sooo good! I am in the process right now off making this but the marinade curdled once I tried to reduce it so now its this weird brown and green chunky substance. This cant be right this is why i don’t cook haha

I can identify! I have been riding for 45 years and also battling with the gypsy and Old Lady. I also love to cook and these Kabob’s sound great, will be trying them real soon. So glad you didn’t get hurt when you went down. Ride safe and keep cookin’

My family and I love this recipe! Both times I made this, I had the “curdled” thing happen. It seems like little tiny pieces of the chicken were cooking in the marinade. So, when it happened, I strained the marinade in a mesh strainer, returned it to the stove and it thickened up after cooking for about 8-10 minutes.

Liked the recipe but did make a couple of changes. I prefer white meat so I used Chicken breasts and cooked in oven. A trick I found somewhere suggested placing the skewers over a foil lined pan (like a lasagna pan) so that the ends of the skewers rest on the side and the meat does not touch the bottom of the pan. This allows the heat to circulate around the meat. Inasmuch it cooks faster, so I cooked it at 375% for only 20 mins. Also, my marinade did not convert to a glaze even though I allowed it and the meat to come to room temp. That’s something else I do when cooking meat. It was very lumpy and foamy but still used it and it was delicious. I will make it again on the grill next time. Thanks

I’m a couple years late but just wanted to say, my boyfriend and I made these for the first time last night and they were AMAZING!!! It’s not every week that we have a new recipe we both love this much! I even ran out of honey so I made up the missing amount with an eyeballed amount of turbinado sugar and water and it worked flawlessly… so it’s apparently a forgiving recipe 🙂 I wasn’t sure what to eat them with but we just did plain rice (with a little cilantro) and a salad on the side and it was a perfect meal!

Hi! I am compiling a small cookbook to give to our 40+ volunteers at my non-profit where I work to say ‘thank you’. I am wondering if I can include your recipe? It’s a favorite of a coworker and I would love to use it but I want to get approval first. Thanks!

This is a great dish! I didn’t have honey so I used brown sugar, which I think brought out the Porter flavors pretty nicely. I used a Vanilla Porter from Hop Valley. I also used chicken breast but I brined it for a couple of hours so it would be moist. The sauce it made was fantastic. A keeper!